The Apprisal
by myInfirmary
Summary: 3 people tell Ichabod that he loves Abbie, and 3 people that tell Abbie that she loves Ichabod. As always, the title, I got from 26Chapters.


He's definitely a surprise.

'You?' Jenny frowns, asking in surprise, 'What are you doing here?' Not that he shouldn't be here, but he just shouldn't. Well, not really anyway. She doesn't know one person who would move around in the current weather state, not one. But apparently, he's an exception.

'Miss Jenny,' Ichabod Crane bows his head a fraction, clearly not understanding what her manner means, 'How are you doing?'

'What are you doing here?' she asks again as though she didn't hear him speak. It's terrible weather outside, and she doesn't want to think what he's had to go through when the taxi dropped him off. In fact, she doesn't have to think about it, she's looking at the proof in front of her. His face is seven ways of frozen, with his lips a poor excuse of a line. He doesn't look good at all.

'May I come in?' he asks through chattering teeth. Realising her mistake, Jenny pulls him inside the house. Her hand meets only ice cold material, she pulls it away immediately, 'Gosh,' she says rubbing her hands together to restore heat into her hand, 'You're frozen.'

'It's welcomingly warm in here,' Ichabod says as he steps further into the home Jenny lives with her sister.

'What are you doing here?' Jenny doesn't know what would drive her sister's sidekick-slash-friend-slash-not-romantically-involved-significant-other, to travel in such weather all the way from the deep woods (leaving his wife behind), to the centre of town.

'Does my presence bother you?' he turns to Jenny.

'No,' she tells him honestly, because it's not his presence that bothers her, it's the why he's risking his life going around in hazardous weather, especially if he travelled by car.

'I just don't understand why you are here in such bad conditions,' she explains.

'I'm here to see your sister,' he tells her.

'Abbie's got some like big cold or flu, I don't think she wants to see anyone.' The previous night, Abbie had been complaining about a sore throat, and earlier this morning, she begsn sneezing and going through tissues like she had persistent nasal diarrhoea.

'I'm aware that she isn't feeling well,' he tells her, his tone a shade of bossiness.

'That's why you're here isn't it?' she asks quietly. In her head, she'd doing the maths. Ichabod, and bad weather. Minus wife. Plus Abbie. Multiply by the look in his face, and the urgent manner about him. Jenny starts smiling.

'Of course,' he nods, 'I couldn't leave her be alone at such a perilous time.' His words are translated as, 'I want to take care of her.' She wants to feel annoyed that he doesn't think she can take care of Abbie, but all she feels is warmth and adoration for the man who wants to take care of her sister when he has a wife at home (a little huge disturbing fact in this moment).

'She's not alone,' Jenny says to him, 'I'm here. And she's not dying or anything, it's just a flu. You know that right?' She's known people to exaggerate about a common cold, but he has taken it to the extremes, going through terrible weather just to make sure he is with her.

'She doesn't need to be dying for me to be by her side,' Ichabod answers her. Jenny gets the feeling that she's struck a nerve, or near one, whatever she's done, he doesn't agree with it. A light turns on inside her as she watches his face.

'Oh my gosh,' she says, 'You so love my sister.' No matter how he may try to deny it, he does, maybe not extremely tragically, but he does.

'I beg your pardon?' Ichabod doesn't know what Jenny's talking about. She doesn't blame him, he's married and he loves his wife, the possibility of him thinking that he loves Abbie too, is obviously not entertained in his head. To confirm her already confirmed suspicion, she asks Ichabod to follow her, choosing to ignore his question.

'She's sleeping, so be super quiet,' she leads him into the sitting room where Abbie is spread out on the sofa with a blanket over her.

'Abbie?' Ichabod calls gently, as though he's scared she'll break apart if he speaks any louder.

'She's got earphones on. Listening to music,' Jenny explains when he looks at her with a lost countenance.

'Oh,' his mouth form the word. Jenny goes around the sofa, and tries to rouse her sister from sleep. Abbie doesn't stir at first, but Jenny persists.

'Mmmm,' Abbie complains as she opens her eyes. Jenny feels bad for waking her sister, especially when she's this sick.

'There's someone here to see you,' Jenny smiles, her fingers pointing to a frightened Ichabod. The only difference now, is that he's beginning to smile.

'Abbie,' he mentions in the most private of ways. Abbie smiles weakly, so minimally that Jenny wonders she's imagined the smile, yet despite how terrible Abbie looks, her face and eyes are shining with gladness, 'Hi,' Abbie whispers to him.

'Hi,' he replies, a big smile of relief on his face.

Jenny looks between the two of them, and seeing that they are lost in each other, she excuses herself from their presence.


End file.
